Guidance

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has issued full guidance to the NHS in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland on retrograde urethral sphincterometry.

The guidance was considered for reassessment in November 2010 and it was concluded that NICE will not be updating this guidance at this stage. However, if you believe there is new evidence which should warrant a review of our guidance, please contact us via the email address below.

Description

The aim of this procedure is to test urethral function and may have a role in the diagnosis of stress urinary incontinence.

The procedure involves placing a cone-shaped device around 5 mm into the external urethral meatus. The device then infuses fluid at a controlled rate into the urethra. The pressure required to open the urethral sphincter is displayed on the device; urethral opening pressure is the pressure at which the measurement reading plateaus.

Your responsibility

This guidance represents the view of NICE, arrived at after careful consideration of the evidence available. When exercising their judgement, healthcare professionals are expected to take this guidance fully into account. However, the guidance does not override the individual responsibility of healthcare professionals to make decisions appropriate to the circumstances of the individual patient, in consultation with the patient and/or guardian or carer.

Commissioners and/or providers have a responsibility to implement the guidance, in their local context, in light of their duties to have due regard to the need to eliminate unlawful discrimination, advance equality of opportunity, and foster good relations. Nothing in this guidance should be interpreted in a way that would be inconsistent with compliance with those duties.